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Sunday, November 18, 2012

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I'm still not sure what all I'll be making this year. My menu changes from year to year. Well, mostly just the side dishes, because there are a few recurring dishes that make an appearance at our Thanksgiving table each year; roast chicken instead of turkey (because turkeys are hard to come by in Small Town, Mexico), pumpkin pie, Cajeta Pecan Pie, and of course, mashed potatoes. Lots and lots of fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes. Hubby, the kiddies, and I all love mashed potatoes, so I always make sure to make extra, because the leftovers can be used to create some of my family's favorite dishes like Potato Enchiladas and Tacos Dorados de Papa (fried potato tacos).

But when I was a little girl, the one thing I looked forward to most was the day after Thanksgiving breakfast, because my grandpa always made Tortitas de Papa (potato patties) with the leftover mashed potatoes. Little golden fried, cheesy potato patties topped with a tomato salsa. I remember sneaking a couple of Tortitas de Papa while Pappy was cooking because I could never wait until he was finished frying all of the potato patties. Then I'd sneak a few more after breakfast, because they were just too good to resist.

What's on the menu in your Cocina for Thanksgiving? And what do you do with the leftovers?

In a small saucepan, bring the tomatoes to a boil with 2 cups of water. Remove from heat; let cool to room temperature. Puree the tomatoes with 1 to 2 chipotle chilies in a blender until smooth; season with salt and set aside.

Scoop 1/8 cup of mashed potatoes and shape into balls; flatten slightly. Once all of the patties have been formed, refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until very firm.

Break the egg in to a small bowl and beat slightly to break the yolk. Combine the flour and seasoning salt in a separate bowl. Dip each potato patty in the egg, making sure both sides are completely covered.

Transfer the potato patties to the flour, turning to make sure both sides are evenly coated. Gently dust off the excess flour.

Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the potato patties until golden brown on both sides. The potato patties can be enjoyed plain or topped with leftover cranberry sauce for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

But my favorite way to eat Tortitas de Papa is topped with the tomato-chipotle salsa. It makes for a delicious breakfast served with a slice of ham and a fried egg. Enjoy!!!

What do you do with your leftovers? For more Thanksgiving leftovers ideas be sure to check out what my #SundaySupper friends have cooked up for you this week.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just a few days away? November is just zooming on by. I haven't even thought about what I'm going to make for Thanksgiving. We'll probably have chicken, since I can never seem to find a turkey. But other than that, the only thing I know for sure that I will be making is pie. Lots and lots of super yummy holiday pies. And that's exactly what Girlichef and I are making this month for She Made/Ella Hace.

Every year for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, I bake a pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie, a Pay de Cajeta (Cajeta Pie), and a Pecan Pie. But not just any pecan pie, my Hubby's favorite Cajeta Pecan Pie!

This recipe came about quite by accident one year for Thanksgiving when I was preparing my traditionalPecan Pie, and realized I didn't have enough maple syrup. Instead of heading out to the store to buy more maple syrup, I looked in my pantry to see if there was something, anything I could use as a substitute. That's when I saw the big jar of cajeta, a goat's milk caramel sauce, that my suegra had taken us as a gift on one of her visits to the States. The results were so good, that pie was the first to disappear that Thanksgiving. Cajeta and pecans were made for eachother. I made another pecan pie with just the cajeta the very next day along with a creamier Cajeta Pie without pecans. They've been a holiday tradition every since.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cajeta, melted butter, eggs, and salt until well combined.

Pour the cajeta mixture into the pre-made graham cracker pie crust. Place the pie crust on top of a larger cookie sheet. (I do this for all the pies I bake in case the pie contents overflow.) Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes or until the center of the pie no longer jiggles.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Holiday Season is upon us, leaving many of us to ask that age old question...."What am I going to serve with the turkey, ham, or tamales this year?" Freaketh not, my friends, because this month's Food of the Month Club theme is...Side Dishes!

You can choose from: pasta, rice, beans, mashed potatoes, veggies, and even salads.

What are some of your favorite Side Dishes?

How to Participate:

1.) Visit La Cocina de Leslie the 15thof each month to find out the Food of the Month.2.) Head to the kitchen and cook up a delicious Side Dish.

3.) Post the recipe(s) on your blog. You may submit more than one recipe, but no more than 3 can be included in the round-up. All posts must be current. 4.) You must link to this page in your Side Dish recipe blog post(s). You can also add the Food of the Month Club badge to your post and/or sidebar. You can find the code for the badge here.

5.) Email your Side Dish entries to me at leslielimon@lacocinadeleslie.com no later than December 14th to be included in the round-up. Be sure to include:~your name~your blog name~permalink to your post~a photo of your recipe or permission to pull one from your post

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

It's been quite some time since I've received a care package from the States, so you can probably imagine why I was as happy and excited as a little kid on Christmas morning, when Hubby brought home a box from the post office. "The Box" was a care package from my BFF filled with lots of goodies that made this expat food blogger (and her 4 kiddies) very happy. So happy that I just had to share some of the contents with all of you, since I'm pretty sure you'll being seeing some of it featured on the blog in the coming weeks.

My care package included....

Candy!!! We have a pretty decent selection of American candy here in Mexico, like Snickers, M&M's, Twix, and Milky Way. But what we don't have are Reese's Pieces, red licorice, Peeps, or candy corn. My kiddies have never had any of them and were excited to try them all. Of course, not all at the same time.

Also in "The Box"...

Food & Holiday Themed Magazines! I absolutely LOVE this gift! I love to cook. I love food. And I've never met a holiday that I didn't like, so this gift is just perfect for me in so many ways! And they're in English! I'm ready to get my Christmas craft on. This is the first time I've ever read the Food Network Magazine. I'm loving it so much, I've subscribed to the digital version. I predict that you will see a few recipes from these magazines very soon.

And finally...

Assorted Chocolate Chips & Cupcake Liners! Out of all the awesome gifts I received today, the one I'm most excited about are all these chocolate chips! White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Butterscotch, and Mint! Oh my! I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but chocolate chips are next to impossible to find around these parts. And I can never find anything mint flavored. Have I mentioned that I love all things Chocolate Mint? I can't wait to start baking with these goodies.

And the bright and colorful cupcake liners are too darn cute. My soon-to-be Quinceañera (15 year old) has already requested the patterned ones for her birthday party next month. So you can expect to see a couple of cupcake recipes too.

Also in the box, but not pictured, was more candy, like Twizzlers and fun-sized Snickers, and a couple of handy-dandy hand held kitchen gadgets that I will be putting to good use in my cocina.

As Martha Stewart would say, Expat Foodie Care Packages are a very good thing.

Monday, November 12, 2012

When I was a little girl, my all-time favorite sandwich was the BLT -- Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato on toasted sandwich bread. I ordered it almost every time I went to work with my mom at the bowling alley and/or honky-tonk bar where she was a bartender. It remained my favorite for many, many years to follow.

Then as a grown, married woman, I moved to Mexico. It was here in this country I now call home, where I discovered the Lonche de Aguacate con Queso -- a special avocado and queso fresco sandwich served on a crusty bolillo roll, very popular during Lent. It was love at first bite and quickly replaced the BLT as my favorite sandwich. And for twelve years, that title remained uncontested.

That is until very recently...

It appears that a new contender has arrived on the scene, threatening to rip the title of "My All-Time Favorite Sandwich" from my once beloved Lonche de Aguacate con Queso. The contender's name? Torta de Rajas con Champiñones! A spicy vegetarian sandwich made with sliced mushrooms and roasted poblano peppers, topped with oodles of ooey-gooey melted cheese. And just a hint of tequila. Yes, you read that correctly, TEQUILA!

The combination of mushrooms, roasted poblano peppers, Mexican crema and that teeny, tiny splash of tequila is so incredibly delicious, I honestly don't know how I resisted the urge to eat all of the filling straight from the skillet, before I even finished assembling our sandwiches.

After just one round with this knock-out sandwich, I'm pretty sure I have a new champion. Now it's your turn, what's your favorite sandwich?

Directions:
Roast the poblano peppers on a comal or griddle over medium-high heat, until the skin has charred.

Place the roasted poblano peppers in a plastic bag and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. This allows the peppers to sweat, which makes it easier to peel the peppers and remove the charred skin.

Remove stems and seeds from the roasted poblano peppers; cut the peppers into 1/2-inch strips. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the melted butter with the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Carefully add the mushroom and saute for about 10 minutes or until fully cooked and tender; season with salt and pepper. (Pay no attention to my scratched skillet, it has survived many a battle in my Cocina.)

Add the roasted poblano pepper strips. Stir in the Mexican crema and tequila. Let simmer for about 5 minutes; season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the Manchego cheese.

Cut the bolillo rolls in half lengthwise; brush insides and out of bolillo rolls with melted butter. Toast the cut-side (inside) of each bolillo roll on a comal or griddle over medium-low heat. Spoon half of the mushroom and poblano pepper mixture onto the two bottom slices of bolillo roll. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. (I added a few extra thin slices of cheese, because you can never have too much cheese!) Top with the top slices of bolillo roll.

Toast the sandwiches for a few minutes on each side, until the bread is slightly crispy and light golden brown, and the cheese has completely melted. Enjoy!!!